Camp Hyrule was an annual online virtual camp by Nintendo of America. The camp began in 1995 and ran until its official closing in 2007. It was named after Hyrule, the main setting in the series The Legend of Zelda. Registration would be open for one week at a time, usually in July, and the actual event would take place for four days in August. Players would be assigned a cabin to participate in, and the camp program would allow players to chat with one another, play online games, and participate in sweepstakes or win prizes. Each cabin would compete against one another with a winner being chosen on the last day. After the four days of the camp concluded, an event would occur, forcing the camp to shut down. All cabin winner members would receive some sort of prize.
Beginning in 2000, each year would have its own theme. Two of the years had a Super Mario game as a theme: Super Mario Sunshine for 2002 and Super Mario Galaxy for 2006.
Gameplay involving the Super Mario franchiseEdit
The 1999 Camp Hyrule had Donkey Konk Game,[sic] "The Rooftop," Kremling Krunch Game, "The Vine," "The Gator Pit," and "The Tree House" as Donkey Kong-themed areas.[1] Through Camp Hyrule, Nintendo of America hosted a Mario Golf tournament online and in-game called the Camp Hyrule Cup. The North American release of the title had a special password coded into the game that players could type in and be entered into the "Camp Hyrule Cup" in-game. Upon completion of the cup, players would be given a password that would be typed in online. This secret password would be tied to their score achieved in-game, and would verify the legitimacy of their score as only Nintendo of America itself would be able to verify the score it matched up to.[2] This was repeated in 2000, with a second Camp Hyrule Cup in the Nintendo 64 Mario Golf, and would also be repeated in 2003 for Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. Ports of Mario Golf for the Virtual Console removed the Camp Hyrule Cup.
The 2000 iteration of Camp Hyrule was themed after The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. However, the "Green" and "Tennis Court" sections were themed after Mario Golf and Mario Tennis, respectively.[3][4] The "Green" was the second wave of the Mario Golf tournament from the second year.
The 2001 iteration of Camp Hyrule was themed after the Nintendo GameCube. On the last day of the camp, Bowser wrecked the campsite.[5] A game based on Luigi's Mansion could be played in the "Luigi's Mansion Parlor" section of the camp, and in addition there was a Bowser-themed game, and a Mario Kart: Super Circuit area.[6]
In the 2002 iteration of Camp Hyrule, when players logged on for the first time, they discovered the camp was plagued with graffiti and litter. The graffiti was gradually cleaned up by the players as the week progressed, and the culprit was discovered to be Shadow Mario.
The 2003 iteration of Camp Hyrule was themed after 1080° Avalanche, and its destruction entailed King K. Rool creating a massive earthquake that devastated the campsite with an avalanche. Super Mario-themed events included one themed after Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (bearing the same name as the game), one after the WarioWare, Inc. series, and "Mario Golf Clubhouse" and "Mario Golf Course."[7] A Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour tournament took place that year, following the 1999 and 2000 tournaments. The cabins were split between two teams: the Mario Kart Team and the F-Zero Team.[8] A King K. Rool piñata was given out as a grand prize to one camper.
The 2004 iteration of Camp Hyrule was themed after the Nintendo DS, though the "DK Jungle" was its own section of the camp, where players could play the Donkey Konga-themed Adobe Flash game Donkey Konga Beat.[9]
The 2005 iteration of Camp Hyrule was themed after The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. However, it had a Mario Superstar Baseball-themed game, Mario Sports Complex: Barrel Blast, as well as a Donkey Kong-themed area.[citation needed] In the Flash game Feed Stumpy, the Mario Cap is one of the randomly generated items that could be fed to the camp's mascot, Stumpy.[10]
In the 2006 iteration of Camp Hyrule, the campsite was moved to outer space where it was hit by meteor showers, a space virus epidemic, asteroids, and a black hole. This year also had a Mario Hoops 3-on-3-themed area (called "Mario Hoops Basketsphere") and a Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis area (called "Super Mini Mario World"). The Super Mini Mario World area provided information about the upcoming Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis game. On the last day, the camp slipped through a wormhole, and it was warped into the 1998 campground.
Throughout the course of Camp Hyrule, the Super Mario Adobe Flash games that could be played in Camp Hyrule include Donkey Konk Game[sic], released in 1999; Kremling Krunch Game, released the same year; Donkey Konga Beat, released in 2004; Mario Sports Complex: Barrel Blast, released in 2005; and Virus Attack!, released in 2006.
GalleryEdit
1999 camp, with the Donkey Kong-themed areas in the top right, and the Mario Golf area on the left
2001 camp; Bowser can be faintly seen on the left after destroying the camp
The vandalized camp in 2002
The 2003 camp, after King K. Rool destroyed it with an earthquake; Mario's Red Fire can be seen in the bottom
The 2004 camp, with "DK Jungle" in the upper left
The 2005 camp, with the Donkey Kong-themed area in the bottom left, and a Mario sports coliseum on the right
The 2006 Super Mario Galaxy-themed camp
2006 camp, with Super Mini Mario World and various viruses in the corner
2006 camp, with the Mario Hoops Basketsphere
ReferencesEdit
- ^ Camp Hyrule 1999 Map - Night. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ May 5, 2021. Password Tournament #1 - 1st Camp Hyrule Cup with DK! | Mario Golf (Nintendo 64). YouTube. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ Camp Hyrule 2000 Map - Day 1. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ August 2000. Nintendo Power Issue 135. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 12.
- ^ 2001 Camp Hyrule. Nintendo of America. Archived September 1, 2001, 04:02:41 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ Camp Hyrule 2001 Gallery & Overview (JPG). Internet Archive. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ Camp Hyrule 2003 Map - Day 4. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ September 2003. Nintendo Power Volume 171. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 29.
- ^ Camp Hyrule 2004 Map. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ "Marioshat.jpg" screenshot from Camp Hyrule '05. Retrieved May 16, 2024.